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Big tech names push S&P, Nasdaq higher

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Nasdaq posts third straight positive session

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Qualcomm ( QCOM ) up after win against Arm in chips trial

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Lilly gains after weight-loss drug approved for sleep

apnea

(Updates to close, adds analyst comment)

By David French

Dec 23 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite

ended higher on Monday, as gains by many of the so-called

Magnificent Seven tech stocks pushed benchmarks up on a

holiday-thinned trading day.

With megacap stocks having outsized influence on markets,

their performance during a week in which many investors take

time off will be even more pronounced.

Meta Platforms ( META ), Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Tesla

all closed higher, with Google parent Alphabet also in

positive territory.

The gains helped propel the Nasdaq Composite to its

third straight increase, and a second advance in three sessions

for the S&P 500.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 42.96 points, or 0.70%, to end at 5,972.23 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 192.29 points, or

0.98%, to 19,764.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 61.59 points, or 0.14%, to 42,901.85.

After a solid run since the November presidential election,

Wall Street's rally hit a bump this month, especially after the

U.S. Federal Reserve forecast just two 25-basis-point rate

reductions for 2025 - down from its September view of four cuts

- and raised its annual inflation outlook.

This included a selloff last Wednesday triggered by the U.S.

Federal Reserve signaling a slower rate-cut pace.

Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight

Asset Management, noted that while some course correction has

occurred in recent days, as interest-rate expectations have been

modified by investors, many of the same trends remain in place,

including tech and tech-enabled stocks finding favor.

"We're really seeing a microcosm today of what we've seen

all year long, and the trends are back in place despite what

we've seen in the last couple of weeks where things bounced

around a little bit," Zaccarelli said.

As well as major benchmark gains, a majority of the S&P

sectors finished higher on Monday, led by communication services

.

Markets are also entering a historically strong period for

U.S. stocks. Since 1969, the last five trading days of the year,

combined with the first two of the following year, have yielded

an average S&P 500 gain of 1.3% - a period known as the "Santa

Claus Rally", according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

Northlight's Zaccarelli said he believed conditions were

right for such a rally, as this year's gains would likely mean

investors would hold on to positions as opposed to selling and

booking losses which they can use for tax purposes.

Qualcomm's ( QCOM ) shares rose after a jury found its

central processors are properly licensed under an agreement with

UK-based Arm Holdings. Shares of Arm, which has vowed to

seek a fresh trial, fell.

Walmart ( WMT ) dropped after the U.S. consumer finance

watchdog accused the retail giant and workforce payments company

Branch Messenger of forcing more than a million delivery drivers

into using accounts that cost them more than $10 million in junk

fees.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) gained after the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration approved the drugmaker's weight-loss treatment,

Zepbound, for obstructive sleep apnea. Shares of sleep apnea

device makers ResMed ( RMD ) and Inspire Medical ( INSP ) fell.

Nordstrom's ( JWN ) shares declined after the department

store chain's founding family and Mexican retailer El Puerto de

Liverpool agreed to take the company private.